5 Minutes
by Clarivoyance
Summary: What happens when Sasuke the mercenary and Sakura the Anbu get stuck in a time loop. Post Ninja War Pre Gaiden. [SasuXSaku] The ending is a bit angsty... i might write a sequel to fix that but you need to tell me if you really want one.
1. Chapter 1

The smoke from the incense was suffocating inside the cave like hideout but, it was necessary. It enabled him to send out chakra on the particles heavier than air in minuscule quantities allowing him to sense everything in the vicinity.

Before the two Rogue ninjas could even discover the hideouts entrance, Sasuke was behind them with his sword drawn and a dark intent surrounding his aura.

The two rogue ninja's were no amateurs. Dressed in full back body suits with top half face masks, they jumped out of range before Sasuke could land a single blow.

"We don't want to fight. We are here to hire you." One of them said as they landed at a safe distance from Sasuke

"Sneaking up on someone is hardly a way to begin a business deal…" Sasuke said as he sheathed his sword

"Consider it an interview… Which you passed…" said the taller of the two ninja's. Sasuke reminded impassive and waited for them to continue…

"We have a mission for you. The Hokage has a scroll that is going to be transferred to the Kazakage for safe keeping 3 days from now… A 2 man Anbu unit will be incharge of delivering the same, we want you to intercept the transfer and steal that scroll for us…"

"And how much is that scroll worth to you?" Sasuke Asked

"Name your price…" said the ninja who hadn't spoken till now…

Sasuke though about it and said "10million Ryo…"

The Ninja's lip curled into a smile "Money'll buy anything these days… Here…" he said as he threw a bag at Sasuke "This is 1million Ryo… you'll get the rest after we get the scroll…"

Sasuke caught the bag and said "or I could take this and kill you… half the payment now… or your heads… decide…"

"You drive a hard bargain Uchiha Kun…." Said the rogue ninja as her threw 4 more bags at him…

"We will meet you at the old Hidden Village of Rain on the North eastern border of Wind Country in 2 weeks time…." The two rogue ninja's disappeared in a puff of smoke…


	2. Chapter 2

**Konohagakure**

Tsunade took on last look at the map before wiping it clean with a concealing jutsu. She handed it to the masked and pink haired captain of the 3 man Anbu cell. "Guard this with your life, if you get compromised, destroy it."

"Hai!" responded the captain and in a lightning speed moment, the Anbu were gone

"Shizune!" hearing Tsunade's voice the special advisor to the Hokage came running in…

"Let it be known, Edo Tensi is forever banned and anyone caught using this Jutsu will be given the death penalty. It is the decision of the 5 Kages and everyone in Fire Country must know about it…"

"Hai Tsunade Sama…" With a quick respectful bow, Shizune left


	3. Chapter 3

**Mount Myōboku**

"Naruto! Naruto! " Gamakchi called out to the only human for miles busy training to become a Hokage

"Nandesho Gamkachi?" Said Naruto from atop one of the peaks where he was meditating and gathering natural energy

"Come down! The great sage Toad has summoned you!"

Naruto landed with perfect ease and he took of with a "arigatou gamakchi! I'll see you for dinner!"

"Che… that kid is always in such a rush" Gamakchi mumbled as he took off in the opposite direction

 **The Sage Toad's Shrine**

"Who are you?" Gamamaru Said as he looked at Naruto standing expectantly in front of him

"Aaaaah! Nani! You forgot me again! It's me! Naruto Dattebayo!" Naruto screamed outraged

"Oh yes! I always know you were Naruto but do you know who you are? " said Gamamaru "huh!" was the intelligent response Naruto could manage

"Never mind… I have dreamt of a prophecy…. Stuck in a moment of time a cherry blossom will fall, to return to you, what you have lost… This loss will then forever be forgotten, as what was once yours will then belong to the Cherry blossom…" finished the Sage Toad cryptically

"What does that even mean?" Naruto wondered out loud

"The meaning will be revealed to you in time… For now resume your training and be sure to answer any summons from Konoha…" With that the Sage Toad dismissed him

Confused and bewildered Naruto decided to go back to the human realm for bowl of Ichiraku's Ramen before he began to dwell on the riddle that the Great Sage Toad had set before him… Maybe he would ask Shikhamaru, he could probably figure it out in a snap…


	4. Chapter 4

With the help of his eagle, Sasuke didn't take time finding the 2 man Anbu cell. Just as the two rogue ninja's had said they were travelling in the direction of Sunagakure.

Traps were not going to work on Anbu, he would have to combat them head on, he was not taking any chances with this. He turned on his Rinnegan and Mangekyou sharingan and intercepted them mid air.

The fight was quick and the deaths painless as Sasuke made short work of the two man cell. No sooner had he thought that he'd won, the two bodies disappeared in puff of smoke

"Clones…" he observed impassively "Good thing so was I…." Sasuke disappeared in a puff of smoke and appeared behind the two Anbu ninja's hiding in the trees trying to conceal their presence. He knocks them both out and searches them but they have nothing on them…

A few miles out closer to the Sunagakure border, the Anbu unit captain stopped as her clones with Henge were immobilised. She'd probably be discovered soon too… She had to hurry…. Uchiha Sasuke was not a distraction she could afford right now…

Ironic she thought, all those years spent looking for him, then he shows up, saves the village and disappears… He'd become a mercenary for hire is what she'd heard but no evidence was ever found to put him in the Bingo book… Yes he helped rebuild the village… Yes he stood by them… and yes, he had left as unceremoniously as he had arrived as soon as his sentence of 2 years with Morino Ibiki was done.

He'd spent 2 years in interrogation, he'd not withheld anything and he was pardoned. For 6 months in those 2 years she had been nursing him as she and Tsunade had regrown his arm from the cells of Hashirama and Zetsu. He'd given himself to science like a lab rat, he'd heard people slur his name and call him a criminal when they saw him. He had been ambushed many times and never fought back. She's seen Uchiha Sasuke put himself through penance. She's stood right beside him even then as friend.

Except for that one night, that one drunken stupid mistake, he'd never shown her that she meant anything more. The things he'd said and done that night, felt like a dream from another life. For that one moment she's hoped, and then just like that the next morning he was gone with a note on the pillow that read 'Thank You. I'm Sorry.'

She had tried to find him & track him. Naruto did too, but after 5 years of no luck, they'd decided it was best to let it go. The problem was, not her, but another life that was hurt more. It's so true she thought, in war it is always the innocents who suffer.

It's been 10 years since that night. She's been in the Anbu Hokage Cell for the last 3. She could have found him, but she chose not to. He would never hold the power to hurt her or anyone ever again.


	5. Chapter 5

While he was searching them, he felt a charka signature channeling in them move in the distance.

"Che.." he exclaimed with smirk. These were very well done to have been able to fool the Rinnegan. "A medical nin…. Interesting…"

Sasuke Uchiha was excited. After all this time, he was up against a worthy opponent and he had been itching for a fight. He touched the clone and sensed 6 miles out closer to the border. He took off at lighting speed.

As he got closer to the chakra he couldn't help but shake the familiarity of it. He knew this person's chakra, but it was altered somehow. The second he got behind the Anbu Kunochi and saw the pink hair, he knew who he was up against.

Sakura felt his presence and in a split second they had their kunaies out battling with each other on the tree branches until they landed in a clearing. They circled like predator and prey, which was which it was hard to tell. They battled it out with shuriken and kunai, neither aiming to strike a fate blow until Sasuke used the shadow shuriken to knock of the Anbu mask.

Sakura's reserve chakra diamond grew into an elaborate mask as Sasuke's hand lit up with Chidori. They charged towards each other. Sakura flipped over him to avoid the chidori. He grabbed the container on her back. Quick as a flash sakura did some hand signals in mid air. Sasuke released his mangekyun shanringan and there was a blinding glow.

The next moment Sasuke and Sakura were both inside the Susano with each one holding on to the either side of the wooden box. Sasuke was stunned "How did you get inside susano?!"

They fought using Taijutsu inside the ultimate shield, neither letting go of their end of the box.

Sakura aimed a Chakra Punch at sasuke which he doged. Still holding on to one edge of the box he drew his sword from the other hand, as his mangekyun transformed to hit Sakura with the infinite tsukyomi. Sakura closed her eyes and in that moment her whole body glowed with green healing chakra. The mask on her face spread all the way down the edges of her face to her neck.

Sasuke drove the sword though her and Sakura looked him dead in the eyes and smirked "Too late…"

That instant in a there was a flash and Sasuke was back to where he saw Sakura inside the Susano the first time. "What did you do?"


	6. Chapter 6

Sasuke was positive he'd killed her and yet there they were facing each other. His sword was sheathed and on his back. Both of them were holding either edge of the box that he was supposed to steal from her.

Sakura chose not to answer, glaring at him she asked "Why are you here? Who hired you?"

"That is confidential… Whats in the box?" Sasuke retorted

"That is confidential…" Sakura bit back

"Fine, i'll find out for myself…" said Sasuke as he used his free hand to create a chidori and aimed a lighting punch at sakura. She didn't even try to doge as it. She coughed up blood as soon as it hit her and smirked at him "Told you last time, too late…" another flash and they were back again to the start

"Sakura! what have you done?"

"Who sent you?"

Another fit of rage, another death, another flash of blinding light and they are back to the beginning once again. After about 5 more times Sasuke had had enough….

"What am I supposed to do to end this?" Sasuke asked

"You can't end this alone, neither can I, but together we can, I however don't feel like helping you right now…" Sakura snapped

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked

"I want answers…." She said as she relaxed her stance to sit down inside the Susano shield

Sasuke relaxed his stance but chose to continue standing. Both of them still holding on to either edge of the box. After a comfortable silence of 2mins in which Sakura glared at him and he glared right back, he said "What do you want to know?"

"Why did you never fight back when you were ambushed in Konoha?" she asked. A delicate eyebrow raised as he looked at her thinking 'why does she care?'. He looked away from her face as that all too familiar sense of self loathing came crashing back "because I was partly the reason for the destruction and it was my penance…"

She narrowed her eyes as she bit back with "Well at least that's one thing we agree on… times up!"

A blinding flash and back to square one.


	7. Chapter 7

"It's a time loop" he said as they both relaxed their stance after the reset "Where did you learn to do that?"

"You weren't only one who left the village to train before the war, Naruto, Shikhamaru and I travelled too… So did Neji, Hinata and the others… We probably had it a lot easier too, diplomatic missions and such… " she replied

"hn…" was all he could muster. As he looked at her, he remembered those 6 months. Those months where he saw her, not just in passing, but saw into her soul. He remembered how dedicated she was to becoming a medical nin… He wondered what happened? What was she doing in Anbu?

"Why did you let Tsunade and me experiment on you? Tsunade was especially viscous about the procedures… You even said no to the anaesthesia…." she asked breaking him out of his reverie

"Penance… " he said

"That can't be your answer to everything…" she stated

"Time's up" he said

Another flash and back to square one.

Time stood still for them inside the shield but time kept passing outside and in the matter of a few hours Sakura would be very late. Sunagakure would inform Konoha and search parties would be sent out for her. She needed to get out of this and fast. If anyone found them, there would be hell to pay for from both ends. On the flip-side, if she kept him there, his clients would rear their faces and it would be all to easy to take them out…

The question was, how long until Sasuke figured out how to break the Time loop… She needed to ensure their next interaction distracted him enough to put his mind off the infinite loop


	8. Chapter 8

"Why did you leave? the second time…" she asked

"It made no difference if I stayed…." he said

"What if it did…" she asked

"Why did you join Anbu?" he retorted

"I didn't " she said

"And yet here we are…" he stated mildly agitated

"I'm surprised you can string words to form sentences beyond hn.. and ah…" she bit back

"Why are you stalling?" he snapped

"Time's up…" she smirked

The reset just kept on happening. The questions flowed from both sides with no responses from either. Every 5 mins there was a new battle of wits. With every 5 mins they fell more into ease. With every 5 mins the viciousness dropped a little. With every 5 mins the questions got more personal. With 5 mins Sakura got more delayed and Sunagakure sent a message to Konoha about the missing scroll with the map containing locations of the actual hidden burial sites of the fall end warriors with bloodline limits


	9. Chapter 9

To say that Tsunade was less than pleased to hear that her pupil had gone missing would be the understatement of the year. She summoned Kakashi and asked him to assemble a search party and head out instantly.

Kakashi called for Naruto, Neji, Shikhamaru and Shino to help him and the 5 man search squad leapt out into the night with walkies to connect in case of contact.

Once Shino's insects had picked up Sakura's chakra signature, it didn't take long for Neji to locate the susano using Byakugun, They sped of in the direction expecting the worst

Naruto was angry. The susano meant that Sauske was near, but for once, he dint want to save Sasuke, he wanted to beat him within an inch of his life. Kakashi too was not happy to hear about Susano.

"Naruto whatever happens, you must remember the priority is the scroll and Sakura, don't do anything impulsive regardless of who we may find there…" Kakashi warned him

"I know…" naruto replied but Kakashi was not convinced

He changed the formation putting Naruto in the back as a backup fighter so that he could send a clone incase they needed to call for help or send a message to Konoha

As soon as they landed in the clearing they saw Sakura and Sasuke inside the susano and flash of light that put them back in a more warrior stance than they were in before

At the sight of sasuke Naruto snapped and went to attack the susano but was pulled back immediately by Neji and Kakashi who shielded it.

"What! I can break that shield and get them out! I'll beat the shit out of him and we can all go home!" Naruto Screamed

"No you cant break that shield Naruto…" Kakashi said "if you do, you'll destroy the time loop and possibly also the cryptex holding the scroll…"

"So what then?! Are we supposed to just wait and watch what happens?" Naruto let out in frustration

"Yes, although… Neji…" Kakashi was suddenly alert as were Sino and shikhamaru

"I see them…" Neji said using the byakugun "2 rogue Nins, no headbands, no affiliations… They could be after the scroll…"

"Conceal you presence and wait for them to come… we'll give them a welcome they won't soon forget…" Kakashi directed as they spit up and disappeared into the woods


	10. Chapter 10

The reset happened for what seemed like the millionth time.

"I chose not to look for you… Naruto however still hasn't given up"

"Why?"

"Ask him yourself…"

"Do you want me to return?"

"Only for you to leave again? No thank you… You've proven yourself an unreliable, selfish, coward if there ever was one. You run at the first sign of happiness, expectation and commitment… so no.. I don't want you or the likes of you to ever come to Konoha…"

"I am sorry… i didn't mean to leave like that"

His apology was sincere but somehow, it seemed to tick her off

"You never do… only difference is it doesn't matter anymore.." her calm facade had begun to crack

"I didn't want you to deal with the shame i was being put through and rightfully so" he was sincere on again and once again Sakura was getting angry…

She didn't want a sincere apology… not after what he'd done… how much he'd hurt not just her but other too in the process….

"That was not your choice to make…. " She was losing patience

"Sakura… how did you manage to get inside the Susano? " He asked as calm as ever

"My chakra signature has changed as you might have noticed…" She bit back

"What did you do for it alter enough to break through an Uchiha technique… You don't seem the type to dabble in dark and forbidden techniques…" He said now with a smirk on his face… This topic seemed to bug her, and he felt victorious getting a reaction out of it….

"No! no more…. You and I need to let go of the cryptex together and make the tiger, boar, money, ram seal and release for this to break the loop. But you cant steal this… if you know what was in it, you wouldn't want to… " she said…

"What is in it…" he asked for what seemed like the millionth time

"A map…" was all she said and continued "the reinforcements have arrived, you may be powerful but you cant take on 6 of us together… besides we'll destroy the cryptex before we let you have it… I'm sure you've realised how delicate it is… "

"The rogue nins are here as well. I can sense them… " he said and then added "I need to know what the map is about Sakura…"

"No you don't need to know anything other than the fact that I would rather die than have you steal this… drop the box in 3, 2, 1 "

He didn't let go, she did and as she made the seals and released the technique, Susano fell apart. Both of them were standing under a battle field where the 2 rogue nins were being battered by the 5 man team on tree tops


	11. Chapter 11

Sasuke tried to create Susano again, however, he didn't realise how much of his chakra had already been drained in the tie loop..

He resorted to hand to hand combat with sakura who managed to retrieve the cryptex from him and took off. Before Sasuke could chase after her, Naruto came in between and a ferocious battle ensued between them. Sakura took this opportunity to head towards Sunagakure and ensured that the cryptex got delivered to Gaara.

After beating him within and inch of his life, Naruto hauled Sasuke on his back and headed towards Konoha.

They reach just as the dawn is breaking. Sakura thanks the team for their timely support and heads to report the mission details to Tsunade. Kakashi and Neji take the rogue nins to Ibiki for interrogation and Naruto takes Sasuke to the hospital.

Once again, Sauske is tended to by Sakura, only this time she remains cold and distant and avoids him as much as possible.

Time went by, Sasuke healed a lot faster. Sakura didn't tend to him as the days of his discharge came closer. On the day he was leaving Naruto came to see him

"Hi… I came to tell you that Tsunade sama wants to meet you… " he said

"Hn"

"Also… I'm leaving to Myōboku to continue my training so i wont be seeing you… Don't run off while I'm gone…"

"Hn"

"And stay away from Sakura… you've done enough damage there…"

"…."

"I'll see you when i get back … "

As he leaves, Sauske calls out to him.."Naruto… Why…"

"Because you are my best friend!" with his trademark smile and thumbs up he closes the door and walks away


	12. Chapter 12

Tsunade was calculating his every move as he walked in. Once he took a seat opposite her, she said "I need to know everything you did in the past 10 years while you were away…"

He told her, everything, about the travel, about finding team Taka and finishing them off. Visiting Itachi's shrine… destroying Orochimaru's old lairs and setting free people who were meant to be test subjects…

Tsunade listened intently. Once he was done she said… "Once the Uchiha's were in charge of the Konoha Police, I would like to reinstate the force and would like you to head it… The village has gotten much bigger and after the war, the only way we have of managing our economy is by sending ninjas on missions. This leaves very little room for internal affairs monitoring. Are you upto it?"

Sasuke couldn't believe his ears. Not only was Tsunade, not going to charge him, she was giving him the opportunity to become a member of this Village once again. He couldn't bring words to express his gratitude and just nodded. Not a single muscle on his face flinched to show the emotions running wild beneath the surface of that calm cool exterior. He thought best not to speak as each time he did open his mouth he seemed to upset someone.

A week later the village knew and regardless of weather they liked it or not, they had to live with the fact that an Uchiha was running the police force yet again. He wanted to go meet Sakura. He wanted to tell her about this. He wanted to thank her for healing him. He wanted a lot of things but he'd end up doing none of them


	13. Chapter 13

The first year went by with insane work hours and him trying to gain the respect of the members of his team and of the village. He thought about seeing Sakura many times. He'd run into her sometimes en-route to the hospital or when he was doing his rounds. She'd be formal and civil and that was it. He had tried following her sometimes but for some reason or the other he'd lose her trail.

He obviously knew where her home was but even he knew that would mean pushing it too far. There were days when he wished he could just walk into her life again, wish that the time loop had never ended. He had been given a lot of chances by the universe to tell Sakura how he felt, he'd messed up too many times. It felt like the universe wasn't going to be too kind to him any time soon.

Spring was coming soon, which meant the spring festival was also around the corner. The fireworks and martial arts display of the village were known far and wide and the whole fire nation would throng to Konoha. That also meant that there was going to be a security nightmare. Despite there being peace, there were always anti social elements. Sasuke knew this would be his greatest test of all.

The rest stops began to fill up with people. Many a times the pubs would request the help of the police to haul away some unruly drunk. The place was getting chaotic. Sasuke's cool exterior inspired confidence in his force but on the inside he was ready to crumble. One year of paperwork, policing, cases, investigations and putting away petty criminals and even some big ones can take its toll.


	14. Chapter 14

The village had truly grown and it was big enough for Sakura to avoid running into Sasuke ever. It had almost been a year. She knew of his achievements from Shizune and the others. Hinata especially suggested that She at least give sasuke a chance, but Sakura had decided to keep him as far way from her personal life as possible.

Even if she could forgive him, she had become guarded enough to know never to let him near her. She couldn't risk it.

The festival of spring grew closer and the security got more tight, however who can stop kids from being brats. There was one particular groups that had been giving some of Sasuke's rookies a run for their money. He'd been told they were students from the academy who were famous for causing ruckus with their harmless but nonsensical pranks. Of-late they had been pushing their limits and were becoming a nuisance. They were clearly good shinobi and had managed to escape capture this far.

The more Sasuke heard about them, the more they reminded him of Naruto in his younger days. He decided he would take care of this little problem himself. It would be a nice break and maybe he might be able to channel all their pent up energy in a positive direction once he gets a hold on them. As he was mulling over these thoughts, a jounin came running it "This time they've done it! They've crossed the line! They've defiled hokage mountain!" Sasuke actually snickered at how familiar this sounded. He decided he'd sort this mess once and for all. He got up and walked past the Jounin calmly stating "I'll go… ask all other to leave it be and focus on the new details for the Spring festival security"

He leapt to the top of the tallest building and looked. He took a moment to appreciate the creativity of the kids. They'd managed to bring out the worst in every hokage. He saw them standing below admiring there handiwork. Full back hoodies with goggles and face masks. "Smart kids.."he thought as he leapt of in their direction "They want to hide their faces to avoid recognition…"

No sooner was he a tree away than one of them screamed "Scatter!" and in a flash the 3 of them shot of in different directions. He deiced to chase the one who screamed. If he got the leader the rest would be easy. That kid gave him a good chase, he had to admit. He used all the Genin concealing and hiding techniques. 2 mins into the chase he saw them attack in formation to distract him from their leader. He'd never before seen a Genin squad this much in sync. He was quite impressed. After about humouring them for 10 mins he decided it was time he end this and head back to work. In one swift move he was behind the team leader and picked him up by the scruff of his shirt. In the struggle to get out of Sasuke's grasp, his goggles fell and hoodie dropped to reveal bubblegum pink hair and pair of Sharingan eyes.

Sasuke was rooted to the spot


	15. Chapter 15

To say he was livid, would be an understatement. They had known. All of them had known and no one chose to tell him. He barged into the Hokage's chamber demanding answers. Tsunade was expecting this and she told him to go speak to Sakura.

"Some things are the matter of two people that even a hokage's interference might be rude" is all she'd said.

It all made sense now. This is how Sakura had gotten inside the Susano, she'd been exposed to Uchiha Chakra for 9 months. This is what he had been missing. This is what he needed to fix, this is what would make him whole again. He had to go, and apologise and thank and so many things.

As he stood outside the door to her house, he had no idea what he wanted to do. For almost 5mins he was standing there numb until the door opened with a "I'm going out Okasaan… " and a boy of about 9years bumped into him.

Daisuke fell back and looked up angrily at the person stating in front of him until his eye fell on the badge. His face blanched and he began to stammer "I… What… are you do… doing… I mean… can i help you sir?"

Sasuke went down on one knee so that he was eye to eye with the little boy. Daisuke had managed to find his legs and his courage. As Sasuke looked at him he whispered to him…"Listen Mr. Captain, i'll cut you a deal… you leave my friends out of this and I will do whatever punishment you give me but please… i am begging you please" he implored "… don't tell okasaan, she will kill me… i'm a lot more afraid of her than I am of you…"

Sasuke raised one eyebrow delicately as a small smile formed on his face. He just continued to stare at Daisuke. He wanted to memorise each detail of his sons face. The first words his son uttered to him were like drops of water on his parched soul. Daisuke completely unaware of this man's emotional turmoil continued "So what do you say? 50 rounds of the training ground or do you want me to help out in some chores in the village, community service…"

Both of them were completely unaware of the fact that Daisuke had left the door open. The moment Sakura stepped out of her room she saw her son and his father in the porch talking. She stormed up to the front door angrily and pulled Diasuke behind her protectively as she glared at Sasuke.

He stood up, she was still shorter than him, but if looks could kill, Sauske would be dead 10 times over. "How could you not tell me?" was all he said. In response Sakura turned to Daisuke and said, "Stay away from this man. He is a cop and cops only come after people who do bad things. Have you been upto bad things? " Daisuke knew his mum well enough to know when she meant business and right now, she was threatening to blow this house down. He managed a gulp and a "No Okasan."

"Good…" She said "No run along and find Boruto, you both better by back in an hour with the groceries list or else no more help with Genin exam training…"

With a hasty and relieved "Hai!" Daisuke took off…

Saukra waited until Daisuke was earshot, then she look at Sauske and said "I looked for 5 years to tell you. I would leave my child in the care of Hinata and roam the lands looking for his father because he shouldn't have had to grow up without one. But guess what I discovered, he's better off without a selfish, self centred, self important and entitled asshole… and all it took me was 5mins in eternity to find out… Stay away from my son… The captain of the police force is not needed when a few kids pull a prank from ages ago inspired by the Hokage to be's son…"

With that she closed the door on him forever…


End file.
